Several of my friends read my sad post about the Goodyear Half-Marathon and told me that I'm too hard on myself. They said that I should instead be proud of my effort and that, contrary to my expressed opinion, I had actually run quite well.
Well, let me tell ya: I did run as well as I could. It was the same the previous week at the Hofbrauhaus Half. Whenever you give it your all, whenever you run as fast and as smart as you can, you should not be disappointed in the result, no matter what it is. I think this is always the case. You simply cannot perform better than your best, at least for a given day. As with many aspects of life, it's the expectations that need to be managed.
Expectations matter. And I need to work on my own. Coming into 2026, my expectations were to run about as well as I did last year. 2025 was a pretty good year for me; some of my marathon and half-marathon performances met and even exceeded expectations. Do it all again? Why not? 2026 expectations were set. Early in the year, with a 1:52 half and a 1:22 ten-miler, I did appear to be picking up where I'd left off in 2025. Then came Cleveland. That 4:13, and the following week's 1:56 Medina Half were disappointing. And things have been somewhat less than peachy ever since. Been a tough summer. More heat and humidity, not to mention poor air quality, than usual. What is also on the rise is the humility, of course. Okay, okay. Time to end the pity party. Things will improve.
When that be? I dunno - maybe November?
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